Anyone find that the cake you are the most proud of is often not appreciated by others?

For instance I did a hot air balloon that looks "suspended" once the stand is covered in white cloth. It was a hair raising experience that almost ended in disaster, but it held through. However people look through my album and only barely glance at the cake. Its like they don't even realize what it took to get a hot air balloon...big on the top...small at the bottom...suspended in "air"....in cake!!!!

Do any of you have a cake you thought was particularly challenging but you pulled it off, and customers don't even give it a second glance?

First of all your work is great! But what I have come to realize is photos generally do not do the cakes justice. They are so much better in person.
Don't get discouraged the best satisfaction is your own satisfaction.

I hear ya! Sometimes, I will post a cake and think, "Man...this one is so cool, so original, so perfect...I'm sure I'll get tons of comments and a lot of favorites!!" Then I'll post it and get nothing.

But I don't get down over it. I mean, we are all our own worst critics, right!!? If we hate it, it doesn't matter what any one else says!! And vice versa. If we love it, it doesn't matter if no one else gets as amped up over it as we do!

Great hot air balloon by the way! Great job carving the balloon itself! It's very symetrical!!!

I wanted to add that I'm not really talking about this website, but rather prospective clients as they look through my photos...you'd think they'd stop and say "Wow, how did you do that?" but they usually just glance over it in preference of other designs.

That's kinda what I was talking about...any cake that you feel the general "public" doesn't realize all that went into it?

I'm always more amazed at how they go ga-ga over the really simple ones. My strawberry shortcake .... uniced, torted cakes topped with fresh strawberries, assembled with push-in pillars. Big whoop. But everyone always stops and oohs and ahhhs over this cake.

Years ago I made a shower cake.... they wanted the traditional scored with icing and a decoration in each square. (big sigh!). So I scored it, put plastic doves on each intersection of the squares, added plastic bells to the border and you'da thought I created the Sistine Chapel! I kept thinking "It's all plastic, people! It's plastic!"

Ive felt that way many times! I think my family is sort of getting used to the cakes. I made my MIL a watering can cake with all of these gumpaste roses on top for her birthday. I brought it in and it sat in the corner without people really going over to look at it. I wont say it went unnoticed or unappreciated, but the cakes certainly don't have the center of attention anymore! It's okay, but when you do put in 8 or10 hours of work as a gift, you hope it gets noticed.

However, it has made me realize that maybe I dont give people as much attention for their crafts/hobbies/good cooking etc that they might desire either. So now I try to make more of an effort to notice and compliment others on their stuff too!!

Indy that's so funny! I've found that too. Or people will look all over online for a cake design they want me to replicate, and they find some homemade cake a mom put on her blog and that's what they want.

Merissa, good point! But I bet if you just made a plain sheet cake everybody would be like "Hey where's one of your fancy cakes?" LOL. We are spoiling our family!

I know my kids are spoiled....its bad when the other day a friend of mine was reading a book with my 3 yo and she pointed at an animal and said "What is this?" and he said "Its a cake!"

Oh nice. LOL! That sounds like a teenager!

One time my husband got me an ice cream cake for my birthday, just regular white with a border and message. My oldest son was horrified (he was 6 at the time) that mommy got such a plain cake. He figured I should at least get a Barbie one or something.

I did a bridal show a few months ago and all the bakeries had out their most beautiful eleborate cakes with drapes and flowers and just georgous stuff! One bakery had this simple cake, with just fondant and ribbon around the edge and some flowers on top. No scroll work, nothing. The brides all went nuts over it. That is the cake they all want.
So you never know!!!